Sugar - possibly the easiest thing to cut back on for weight loss!

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Replies

  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I guess the common sense part of me says, why do you need a study to determine that if you show people chocolate chip cookies and make them eat radishes they will be pissed.

    I guess the common sense part of me says, if willpower was unlimited, there'd be no reason to get pissed if they get radishes instead of chocolate.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I guess the common sense part of me says, why do you need a study to determine that if you show people chocolate chip cookies and make them eat radishes they will be pissed.

    I guess the common sense part of me says, if willpower was unlimited, there'd be no reason to get pissed if they get radishes instead of chocolate.

    so if you have willpower you can't be angry at being forced to eat radishes instead of cookies? I don't really see how one ties into another...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    It wasn't a pissing contest, ndj. It was a willpower (executive function, thank you girlviernes) study.

    sorry, don't see the relation between willpower and being angry at being forced to eat radishes….that sounds like a natural reaction that anyone would have.
  • JoKnowsJo
    JoKnowsJo Posts: 257 Member
    One thing to think about is why do we have taste buds? For sweet, for salt, for sour, etc. really if things all tasted the same would we still have these issues?
    Food for thought... one of my co workers decided to give her 6 month old son some exposure to different foods. He was humming along trying the carrots, then the beans, loves bananas... applesauce loves it... so she thought she would give him a bit of avocado, she said it was instantly rejected, his tongue went out, he gave her the eye and spit it all out all over the place. Now whether that is just human nature, who knows??
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    The testers weren't measuring anger, they were measuring the participant's ability to complete a complex task afterwards.

    This really isn't so hard to comprehend......
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    LCloops wrote: »
    One thing to think about is why do we have taste buds? For sweet, for salt, for sour, etc. really if things all tasted the same would we still have these issues?
    Food for thought... one of my co workers decided to give her 6 month old son some exposure to different foods. He was humming along trying the carrots, then the beans, loves bananas... applesauce loves it... so she thought she would give him a bit of avocado, she said it was instantly rejected, his tongue went out, he gave her the eye and spit it all out all over the place. Now whether that is just human nature, who knows??

    Depends on the human. My mini human has loved avocada since the first time she's tried it. But will not touch eggs or potatoes.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »

    Love you, girl. Yes, I would say my relationship with food has shifted substantially.

    :smiley: And that's where I'm at right now, and I have a pretty good inkling that's where I'm staying.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    baconslave wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    newmeadow wrote: »
    tigersword wrote: »
    None of the foods people binge on in this thread (that have been mentioned) get all (or even most) of their calories from sugar.

    Maybe we missed a few: Custard stuffed eclairs, Peanut M&Ms, blueberry pie with whipped cream, Pizza with pepperoni, sausage, meatballs onions and peppers, linguine with clams, butter toffee with cashews, mint chocolate chip ice cream, Brigham's hot fudge, vanilla layer cake with lemon cream frosting, Godiva, Chinese pork fried rice, buttered toast with cinnamon, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Hohos, Suzy Qs, Duck Rillette on French bread, crème caramel, kielbasa stuffed potato rolls, ravioli, Italian Chicken sandwich from Burger King, crispy onion rings, Gorton's breaded fish sticks, OreIda Crispers, etc.

    Okay okay it's not sugar that makes every one of these divine foods worthy of a glutton party. There's plenty 'o wheat flour here. Plenty indeed. But don't they both break down as sugar. I mean, scientifically that is. Sorry, I can't find my peer reviewed citations.

    I don't give myself a half a cup of M&Ms and say deal with it Newmeadow. Not interested. If I'm not eating a gallon sized plastic Halloween pumpkin tote full of candy and falling blissfully into a lovely sugar induced euphoric semi comatose state, I DON'T WANT IT.

    It's all or NOTHING.

    I suspect the point was that there's fat plus sugar or fat plus salt in the usual suspects.

    Like I've pointed out, the main source of calories in a typical cookie (at least based on my recipe) is butter. The flour is second, yet people who usually go on about sugar being addictive frequently don't claim to binge on plain bread (although obviously some people do).

    Your list tends to me to support this point.

    It's often sometimes claimed by low carb advocates that people binge only on carbs, not fat or protein--the argument is made that one won't overeat if one sticks to low carb. I think this might be true for some people and that low carb can be a good strategy. It's absolutely not true for me. I might accidently overeat pasta because I misjudge portion size or get a restaurant meal and think it's super tasty (invariably mostly because of the sauce), but I was kind of surprised when I first heard people say they would "binge on" plain bread or cereal or pasta (I always assumed people overate bread because you get it in situations that make portion control difficult, like when hungry before a meal). On the other hand, I won't eat 'til I'm stuffed on anything really (seems unpleasant), but I can most certainly overconsume calories very easily with meat and I used to do it all the time with cheese.

    I find lowering carbs to be a good strategy for me because it makes me more mindful and fits with how I prefer to eat, but not because it prevents overeating. (I think it may do that for some people who overeat due to perceived hunger or cravings.)

    I really think that this is the crux of the thing. Which explains why many people don't have trouble with the sugar in fruit. Or don't just binge on butter sticks. It's the hyperpalatability of the combinations of sugar and fat, and salt and fat, that causes the issues.

    I don't binge apples. But I will eat a whole lot of them if they are covered in peanut butter.
    And chocolates and cookies are sugar plus fat.

    My hubby's aunt doesn't binge sweets. She binges chips. Fat plus salt. Hubs, on his occasional few-and-far-between snacks are fat and salt as well.

    So it isn't the sugar per se. It's the sugar and fat coupled together. And it's the response to palatability (taste). Hmmm...something to think about.

    I think it's probably both, hyperpalateability definitely seems to have effects on overeating, but given the prevalence of undiagnosed insulin resistance, I think specifically eating patterns that result in glucose spikes will be problematic in those people.

    Which of course is another reason why the sugar in fruit is often not problematic - there is a low glycemic load.

    My personal theory--such as it is--is that insulin spikes are more relevant to an overall pattern of eating than overeating on specific foods. If you have a problem with insulin and eat a higher carb diet, you will be generally feeling hungry, more likely to experience cravings, etc. I'm not insulin resistant, but like many I can mimic this somewhat if I eat refined carbs alone to create a situation where the blood sugar seems to spike and crash, so that one gets hungry not long after eating and feels the need of a pick-me-up, that tired, low energy feeling.

    I think feeling tired/low energy/hungry makes you less able to resist treats (the willpower thing again), but I'm not sure it makes sense to me that it would make you keep eating them. The latter seems more related to taste and some other form of satisfaction from it. Plus the psychological issues. Also, more practically, my experience was that once I was overweight I tended to overeat more, since easier to think it wouldn't make much difference anyway, might as well have that additional cookie.

    But I am open to other ideas, of course.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited December 2014
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I guess the common sense part of me says, why do you need a study to determine that if you show people chocolate chip cookies and make them eat radishes they will be pissed.

    I guess the common sense part of me says, if willpower was unlimited, there'd be no reason to get pissed if they get radishes instead of chocolate.

    so if you have willpower you can't be angry at being forced to eat radishes instead of cookies? I don't really see how one ties into another...

    Being pissed off - like "binging" - is just a different way for describing a loss of self control. People with high degrees of willpower rarely binge, and rarely get pissed off. That so many people binge and/or get pissed off so regularly is an indicator that willpower is a limited resource.

    It's all part of the same package..

    ...that sounds like a natural reaction that anyone would have.

    Bingo...just like, under the right conditions, binging....
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Executive function includes the ability to:
    • manage time and attention
    • switch focus
    • plan and organize
    • remember details
    • curb inappropriate speech or behavior
    • integrate past experience with present action

    http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/executive-function
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I guess the common sense part of me says, why do you need a study to determine that if you show people chocolate chip cookies and make them eat radishes they will be pissed.

    I guess the common sense part of me says, if willpower was unlimited, there'd be no reason to get pissed if they get radishes instead of chocolate.

    so if you have willpower you can't be angry at being forced to eat radishes instead of cookies? I don't really see how one ties into another...

    Being pissed off - like "binging" - is just a different way for describing a loss of self control. People with high degrees of willpower rarely binge, and rarely get pissed off. That so many people binge and/or get pissed off so regularly is an indicator that willpower is a limited resource.

    It's all part of the same package..

    ...that sounds like a natural reaction that anyone would have.

    Bingo...just like, under certain conditions, binging....

    interesting ...
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I guess the common sense part of me says, why do you need a study to determine that if you show people chocolate chip cookies and make them eat radishes they will be pissed.

    I guess the common sense part of me says, if willpower was unlimited, there'd be no reason to get pissed if they get radishes instead of chocolate.

    so if you have willpower you can't be angry at being forced to eat radishes instead of cookies? I don't really see how one ties into another...

    Being pissed off - like "binging" - is just a different way for describing a loss of self control. People with high degrees of willpower rarely binge, and rarely get pissed off. That so many people binge and/or get pissed off so regularly is an indicator that willpower is a limited resource.

    It's all part of the same package..

    ...that sounds like a natural reaction that anyone would have.

    Bingo...just like, under certain conditions, binging....

    interesting ...

    There's a reason the first step in AA is an admission of no control....
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »

    My personal theory--such as it is--is that insulin spikes are more relevant to an overall pattern of eating than overeating on specific foods. If you have a problem with insulin and eat a higher carb diet, you will be generally feeling hungry, more likely to experience cravings, etc. I'm not insulin resistant, but like many I can mimic this somewhat if I eat refined carbs alone to create a situation where the blood sugar seems to spike and crash, so that one gets hungry not long after eating and feels the need of a pick-me-up, that tired, low energy feeling.

    I think feeling tired/low energy/hungry makes you less able to resist treats (the willpower thing again), but I'm not sure it makes sense to me that it would make you keep eating them. The latter seems more related to taste and some other form of satisfaction from it. Plus the psychological issues. Also, more practically, my experience was that once I was overweight I tended to overeat more, since easier to think it wouldn't make much difference anyway, might as well have that additional cookie.

    But I am open to other ideas, of course.

    Well I think it is that you can get into a cycle where you are looking for more foods that will quickly handle the fatigue and hunger, which are those foods that are quickly accessible and provide energy quickly (e.g., snack/prepared foods, high sugar content etc.) and like you stated, willpower may be in short supply as well. Plus the psychological issues :wink:

  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I guess the common sense part of me says, why do you need a study to determine that if you show people chocolate chip cookies and make them eat radishes they will be pissed.

    I guess the common sense part of me says, if willpower was unlimited, there'd be no reason to get pissed if they get radishes instead of chocolate.

    so if you have willpower you can't be angry at being forced to eat radishes instead of cookies? I don't really see how one ties into another...

    Being pissed off - like "binging" - is just a different way for describing a loss of self control. People with high degrees of willpower rarely binge, and rarely get pissed off. That so many people binge and/or get pissed off so regularly is an indicator that willpower is a limited resource.

    It's all part of the same package..

    ...that sounds like a natural reaction that anyone would have.

    Bingo...just like, under the right conditions, binging....

    Very Interesting... But I am way more likely to get pissed off at eating radishes when shown cookies over actually binging on cookies.

  • kyta32
    kyta32 Posts: 670 Member
    Acg67 wrote: »
    kyta32 wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    baconslave wrote: »
    miketoryan wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    miketoryan wrote: »
    miketoryan wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    miketoryan wrote: »
    fiber isn't absorbed in the stomach or intestines.

    .

    .

    ;)

    .

    .

    .

    still confused?

    .

    ?

    .

    .

    .

    ?

    "."

    .

    .

    NHANES data for the first one, at least that has shown to be remotely accurate. Oh wait it's shown to be essentially worthless due to it's inaccuracy

    Your next link is the Avena rat study? Are humans now rodents? Is the 12on/12off feeding protocol remotely similar to human eating behavior?

    Drinking soda is associated with obesity? Also really weird sugar consumption peaked around '99, what happened to obesity rates since?

    "But some people do, and there is scientific evidence backing up their experience."

    LOL

    Try again

    If people need double-blind studies to know something, they can google it. They come to MFP threads for the personal experiences of people who have successfully lost weight and maintained that loss (hence the name of this thread "..for weight loss". Note the thread is not aimed at recompers. If you find the assertion that sugar is easily eliminated, and that elimination can lead to weight loss offensive, there is no reason at all for you to be in this thread, so you can avoid all the aggravation).

    And millions of people have successfully lost weight by limiting sugars. Not your experience, I understand, but please understand that other people can experience different things than you. That does not make it ok to belittle and LOL them.

    However, if you need studies to believe that some people who are trying to lose weight have an easier time when they limit added sugar:

    http://www.andjrnl.org/article/0002-8223(94)90155-4/abstract?cc=y
    Done on humans. Amount of total sugar in diet did not predict obesity, amount of added sugar did.

    http://ucdirc.ucdavis.edu/people/papers/pelchat_johnson_etal_NI2004.pdf
    Human subjects. Images showing changes in the brain related to craving food. Scientific proof that food cravings exist.

    http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/19/5160.short
    Human subjects. MRIs showing brain differences in responses to images of food (i.e. chocolate cake). Cravings - different people respond to the reward pathways differently

    Pan A, Hu FB. Effects of carbohydrates on satiety: differences between liquid and solid food. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2011;14:385-90.
    Sugar-added drinks in paticular add calories, but do not affect hunger. Drinking a sugary drink will not lower the rest of the day's calories. Conversely, replacing that soda with water in one's diet does not increase the rest of the day's calories. The sucrose adds calories, not nutrition, and 0 satisfaction.

    http://www.banpac.org/pdfs/sfs/2011/sodas_cont_obesity_2_01_11.pdf
    "All lines of evidence consistently support the conclusion that the consumption of sweetened beverages has contributed to the obesity epidemic. It is estimated that sweetened beverages account for at least one-fifth of the weight gained between 1977 and 2007 in the US population."

    Don't worry that people who limit their added sugar during a diet won't be able to keep it up long-term. A dieter's sense of taste adapts. When someone regularly eats a lot of sweetened food, they will prefer sweet. After experiencing some time with less sucrose in their diet, their taste changes to less sweet. This is one reason eliminating and reducing sugar, even if it is temporary, can lead to better diet habits in the long run.
    Sweet and sour preferences in young children and adults: role of repeated exposure.
    Liem DG, de Graaf C
    Physiol Behav. 2004 Dec 15; 83(3):421-9.

    There is substantial scientific evidence that food cravings exist. There is substantial scientific evidence that added sugar causes weight gain based on how it affects metabolism and saiety. Added sugars can be safely reduced without getting rid of neccesary nutrients, and without an inevitable binge. Reducing added sugars for a period of time will retrain a dieter's tastes, so that it will be easier to resist sweets in the future, in the "real world". OP wins.

    Not everyone gets cravings. Those who don't may not be the best positioned to give advise to those that do. They certainly aren't entitled to dismiss the experiences of those who have successfully gotten through cravings and reduced body fat.

    I'm concerned about your need to belittle and dismiss the experiences of others. You may want to talk to a specialist about that. Good luck with your recomp journey :smile:
  • kyta32
    kyta32 Posts: 670 Member


    NHANES data for the first one, at least that has shown to be remotely accurate. Oh wait it's shown to be essentially worthless due to it's inaccuracy

    Your next link is the Avena rat study? Are humans now rodents? Is the 12on/12off feeding protocol remotely similar to human eating behavior?

    Drinking soda is associated with obesity? Also really weird sugar consumption peaked around '99, what happened to obesity rates since?

    "But some people do, and there is scientific evidence backing up their experience."

    LOL

    Try again
    (reposted so my reply would show. I couldn't get it to post with all the quotes)

    If people need double-blind studies to know something, they can google it. They come to MFP threads for the personal experiences of people who have successfully lost weight and maintained that loss (hence the name of this thread "..for weight loss". Note the thread is not aimed at recompers. If you find the assertion that sugar is easily eliminated, and that elimination can lead to weight loss offensive, there is no reason at all for you to be in this thread, so you can avoid all the aggravation).

    And millions of people have successfully lost weight by limiting sugars. Not your experience, I understand, but please understand that other people can experience different things than you. That does not make it ok to belittle and LOL them.

    However, if you need studies to believe that some people who are trying to lose weight have an easier time when they limit added sugar:

    http://www.andjrnl.org/article/0002-8223(94)90155-4/abstract?cc=y
    Done on humans. Amount of total sugar in diet did not predict obesity, amount of added sugar did.

    http://ucdirc.ucdavis.edu/people/papers/pelchat_johnson_etal_NI2004.pdf
    Human subjects. Images showing changes in the brain related to craving food. Scientific proof that food cravings exist.

    http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/19/5160.short
    Human subjects. MRIs showing brain differences in responses to images of food (i.e. chocolate cake). Cravings - different people respond to the reward pathways differently

    Pan A, Hu FB. Effects of carbohydrates on satiety: differences between liquid and solid food. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2011;14:385-90.
    Sugar-added drinks in paticular add calories, but do not affect hunger. Drinking a sugary drink will not lower the rest of the day's calories. Conversely, replacing that soda with water in one's diet does not increase the rest of the day's calories. The sucrose adds calories, not nutrition, and 0 satisfaction.

    http://www.banpac.org/pdfs/sfs/2011/sodas_cont_obesity_2_01_11.pdf
    "All lines of evidence consistently support the conclusion that the consumption of sweetened beverages has contributed to the obesity epidemic. It is estimated that sweetened beverages account for at least one-fifth of the weight gained between 1977 and 2007 in the US population."

    Don't worry that people who limit their added sugar during a diet won't be able to keep it up long-term. A dieter's sense of taste adapts. When someone regularly eats a lot of sweetened food, they will prefer sweet. After experiencing some time with less sucrose in their diet, their taste changes to less sweet. This is one reason eliminating and reducing sugar, even if it is temporary, can lead to better diet habits in the long run.
    Sweet and sour preferences in young children and adults: role of repeated exposure.
    Liem DG, de Graaf C
    Physiol Behav. 2004 Dec 15; 83(3):421-9.

    There is substantial scientific evidence that food cravings exist. There is substantial scientific evidence that added sugar causes weight gain based on how it affects metabolism and saiety. Added sugars can be safely reduced without getting rid of neccesary nutrients, and without an inevitable binge. Reducing added sugars for a period of time will retrain a dieter's tastes, so that it will be easier to resist sweets in the future, in the "real world". OP wins.

    Not everyone gets cravings. Those who don't may not be the best positioned to give advise to those that do. They certainly aren't entitled to dismiss the experiences of those who have successfully gotten through cravings and reduced body fat.

    I'm concerned about your need to belittle and dismiss the experiences of others. You may want to talk to a specialist about that. Good luck with your recomp journey :smile:
  • JoKnowsJo
    JoKnowsJo Posts: 257 Member
    adowe wrote: »
    LCloops wrote: »
    One thing to think about is why do we have taste buds? For sweet, for salt, for sour, etc. really if things all tasted the same would we still have these issues?
    Food for thought... one of my co workers decided to give her 6 month old son some exposure to different foods. He was humming along trying the carrots, then the beans, loves bananas... applesauce loves it... so she thought she would give him a bit of avocado, she said it was instantly rejected, his tongue went out, he gave her the eye and spit it all out all over the place. Now whether that is just human nature, who knows??

    Depends on the human. My mini human has loved avocada since the first time she's tried it. But will not touch eggs or potatoes.

    Exactly! Ok so if we take a look at this whole conversation, babies do not have a learned behavior pattern towards food, they only know what they like, and what they don't like. Could be the texture but this is all based on the human preference towards the taste. Even a 6 month old knows what they like and what they don't like, it's not liking or disliking anything based on whether it's good for them or not it's entirely a personal preference, that seems to start at a very young age.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    kyta32 wrote: »

    NHANES data for the first one, at least that has shown to be remotely accurate. Oh wait it's shown to be essentially worthless due to it's inaccuracy

    Your next link is the Avena rat study? Are humans now rodents? Is the 12on/12off feeding protocol remotely similar to human eating behavior?

    Drinking soda is associated with obesity? Also really weird sugar consumption peaked around '99, what happened to obesity rates since?

    "But some people do, and there is scientific evidence backing up their experience."

    LOL

    Try again
    (reposted so my reply would show. I couldn't get it to post with all the quotes)

    If people need double-blind studies to know something, they can google it. They come to MFP threads for the personal experiences of people who have successfully lost weight and maintained that loss (hence the name of this thread "..for weight loss". Note the thread is not aimed at recompers. If you find the assertion that sugar is easily eliminated, and that elimination can lead to weight loss offensive, there is no reason at all for you to be in this thread, so you can avoid all the aggravation).

    And millions of people have successfully lost weight by limiting sugars. Not your experience, I understand, but please understand that other people can experience different things than you. That does not make it ok to belittle and LOL them.

    However, if you need studies to believe that some people who are trying to lose weight have an easier time when they limit added sugar:

    http://www.andjrnl.org/article/0002-8223(94)90155-4/abstract?cc=y
    Done on humans. Amount of total sugar in diet did not predict obesity, amount of added sugar did.

    http://ucdirc.ucdavis.edu/people/papers/pelchat_johnson_etal_NI2004.pdf
    Human subjects. Images showing changes in the brain related to craving food. Scientific proof that food cravings exist.

    http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/19/5160.short
    Human subjects. MRIs showing brain differences in responses to images of food (i.e. chocolate cake). Cravings - different people respond to the reward pathways differently

    Pan A, Hu FB. Effects of carbohydrates on satiety: differences between liquid and solid food. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2011;14:385-90.
    Sugar-added drinks in paticular add calories, but do not affect hunger. Drinking a sugary drink will not lower the rest of the day's calories. Conversely, replacing that soda with water in one's diet does not increase the rest of the day's calories. The sucrose adds calories, not nutrition, and 0 satisfaction.

    http://www.banpac.org/pdfs/sfs/2011/sodas_cont_obesity_2_01_11.pdf
    "All lines of evidence consistently support the conclusion that the consumption of sweetened beverages has contributed to the obesity epidemic. It is estimated that sweetened beverages account for at least one-fifth of the weight gained between 1977 and 2007 in the US population."

    Don't worry that people who limit their added sugar during a diet won't be able to keep it up long-term. A dieter's sense of taste adapts. When someone regularly eats a lot of sweetened food, they will prefer sweet. After experiencing some time with less sucrose in their diet, their taste changes to less sweet. This is one reason eliminating and reducing sugar, even if it is temporary, can lead to better diet habits in the long run.
    Sweet and sour preferences in young children and adults: role of repeated exposure.
    Liem DG, de Graaf C
    Physiol Behav. 2004 Dec 15; 83(3):421-9.

    There is substantial scientific evidence that food cravings exist. There is substantial scientific evidence that added sugar causes weight gain based on how it affects metabolism and saiety. Added sugars can be safely reduced without getting rid of neccesary nutrients, and without an inevitable binge. Reducing added sugars for a period of time will retrain a dieter's tastes, so that it will be easier to resist sweets in the future, in the "real world". OP wins.

    Not everyone gets cravings. Those who don't may not be the best positioned to give advise to those that do. They certainly aren't entitled to dismiss the experiences of those who have successfully gotten through cravings and reduced body fat.

    I'm concerned about your need to belittle and dismiss the experiences of others. You may want to talk to a specialist about that. Good luck with your recomp journey :smile:

    at the end of the day it boils down to CICO..

    if you drink soda and overeat you will be over weight..

    if you drink soda and are in a negative energy balance you will lose weight..

    if you eat sugar and are in a surplus you gain weight..

    if you eat sugar and are in a deficit then you will lose weight.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    adowe wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I guess the common sense part of me says, why do you need a study to determine that if you show people chocolate chip cookies and make them eat radishes they will be pissed.

    I guess the common sense part of me says, if willpower was unlimited, there'd be no reason to get pissed if they get radishes instead of chocolate.

    so if you have willpower you can't be angry at being forced to eat radishes instead of cookies? I don't really see how one ties into another...

    Being pissed off - like "binging" - is just a different way for describing a loss of self control. People with high degrees of willpower rarely binge, and rarely get pissed off. That so many people binge and/or get pissed off so regularly is an indicator that willpower is a limited resource.

    It's all part of the same package..

    ...that sounds like a natural reaction that anyone would have.

    Bingo...just like, under the right conditions, binging....

    Very Interesting... But I am way more likely to get pissed off at eating radishes when shown cookies over actually binging on cookies.

    yea, that was my point….
  • karyabc
    karyabc Posts: 830 Member
    baconslave wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    Dierdre isn't debating. She's
    How?

    It varies by person. I overate and binged.

    So here's the first step:
    You get an overwhelming urge to eat yourself to death or to get a third helping, try to catch yourself and pause. Ask "why?" Why am I doing this? Am I hungry? If no, what thoughts preceded the urge (or situation or actions)? Are you bored, sad, angry, lonely? Take note of the causes and see if there is any particular food that you go to in these situations. Figure out the why. Figure out the tool you reach for as a response.

    Next, figure out the HOW. How am I going to get a grip on this? Changes must be deliberate and consistent. Every time stop yourself. Tell yourself, "I don't need this. I need..." and then figure out coping strategies. Bored? Sad? Mad? Lonely? Go distract, or cut off, that thought with an action you find interesting, absorbing, or fun. Do something productive, workout, text a friend, read, watch a movie. Something that will lift you up and get you out of the kitchen. Over time, you will retrain yourself in how you respond to the stimulus that requires you to reach out for too much. But you must be vigilant and consistent.

    Something else that helps people is to not have trigger foods in the house. Others to have them in pre-portioned snack sizes, or even to have "dessert days." There's always trigger foods in my face. Once I divorced myself from the "why," and employed my "how" which was choosing a portion-restricting food plan (keto), which is the dreaded elimination (and I don't even miss it. Pfft. I do what I WANT!), I just looked at the trigger food and said, "I want that. But it doesn't fit my macros. Is it worth it? Nope. Eyes on tha prize" and walked on by. I make cookies and cakes for the kids on their dessert day and made them chocolate chip pancakes this morning. Watched them eating it. I'm not even mad. No longer phases me.

    The more you resist, when eating the food is contrary, at that time, to your limits and/or macros/calories, and the more you employ your strategies, the stronger you will become at resisting. You fail and give in? Get right back up? The next meal.

    You only really fail if you give up. So don't give up. Couple your discovery of "why" and "how" with your fierce grit. With time, this will get you where you need to be. Is this easy, because reading it may sound simple? For some, no. Now I can say it's super easy. I don't even want that stuff most of the time. That took strategy and determination. That took consistent, deliberate choices. Every meal of every day.

    this! i thing you have give many great strategies that i actually use for my self, it may sound silly but asking yourself those things has help me a lottt

  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »

    at the end of the day it boils down to CICO..

    if you drink soda and overeat you will be over weight..

    if you drink soda and are in a negative energy balance you will lose weight..

    if you eat sugar and are in a surplus you gain weight..

    if you eat sugar and are in a deficit then you will lose weight.

    CICO holds, but what is relevant is how can people achieve the CICO balance that they want. For some people, it may be as simple as setting calorie goals and tracking to make sure you hit them, no matter what the content. However, many peoples' experiences bare out that certain dietary changes and/or psychological/environmental adjustments make it much more feasible in the short and long-term.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    adowe wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I guess the common sense part of me says, why do you need a study to determine that if you show people chocolate chip cookies and make them eat radishes they will be pissed.

    I guess the common sense part of me says, if willpower was unlimited, there'd be no reason to get pissed if they get radishes instead of chocolate.

    so if you have willpower you can't be angry at being forced to eat radishes instead of cookies? I don't really see how one ties into another...

    Being pissed off - like "binging" - is just a different way for describing a loss of self control. People with high degrees of willpower rarely binge, and rarely get pissed off. That so many people binge and/or get pissed off so regularly is an indicator that willpower is a limited resource.

    It's all part of the same package..

    ...that sounds like a natural reaction that anyone would have.

    Bingo...just like, under the right conditions, binging....

    Very Interesting... But I am way more likely to get pissed off at eating radishes when shown cookies over actually binging on cookies.

    Most people would.

    Which is exactly the point.

    Because if willpower is a matter of "choice" or otherwise infinite, there would be no reason at all to get pissed off about missing out on a cookie that wasn't even part of your meal plan when you woke up that morning.
  • miketoryan
    miketoryan Posts: 41 Member
    baconslave wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    newmeadow wrote: »
    tigersword wrote: »
    None of the foods people binge on in this thread (that have been mentioned) get all (or even most) of their calories from sugar.

    Maybe we missed a few: Custard stuffed eclairs, Peanut M&Ms, blueberry pie with whipped cream, Pizza with pepperoni, sausage, meatballs onions and peppers, linguine with clams, butter toffee with cashews, mint chocolate chip ice cream, Brigham's hot fudge, vanilla layer cake with lemon cream frosting, Godiva, Chinese pork fried rice, buttered toast with cinnamon, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Hohos, Suzy Qs, Duck Rillette on French bread, crème caramel, kielbasa stuffed potato rolls, ravioli, Italian Chicken sandwich from Burger King, crispy onion rings, Gorton's breaded fish sticks, OreIda Crispers, etc.

    Okay okay it's not sugar that makes every one of these divine foods worthy of a glutton party. There's plenty 'o wheat flour here. Plenty indeed. But don't they both break down as sugar. I mean, scientifically that is. Sorry, I can't find my peer reviewed citations.

    I don't give myself a half a cup of M&Ms and say deal with it Newmeadow. Not interested. If I'm not eating a gallon sized plastic Halloween pumpkin tote full of candy and falling blissfully into a lovely sugar induced euphoric semi comatose state, I DON'T WANT IT.

    It's all or NOTHING.

    I suspect the point was that there's fat plus sugar or fat plus salt in the usual suspects.

    Like I've pointed out, the main source of calories in a typical cookie (at least based on my recipe) is butter. The flour is second, yet people who usually go on about sugar being addictive frequently don't claim to binge on plain bread (although obviously some people do).

    Your list tends to me to support this point.

    It's often sometimes claimed by low carb advocates that people binge only on carbs, not fat or protein--the argument is made that one won't overeat if one sticks to low carb. I think this might be true for some people and that low carb can be a good strategy. It's absolutely not true for me. I might accidently overeat pasta because I misjudge portion size or get a restaurant meal and think it's super tasty (invariably mostly because of the sauce), but I was kind of surprised when I first heard people say they would "binge on" plain bread or cereal or pasta (I always assumed people overate bread because you get it in situations that make portion control difficult, like when hungry before a meal). On the other hand, I won't eat 'til I'm stuffed on anything really (seems unpleasant), but I can most certainly overconsume calories very easily with meat and I used to do it all the time with cheese.

    I find lowering carbs to be a good strategy for me because it makes me more mindful and fits with how I prefer to eat, but not because it prevents overeating. (I think it may do that for some people who overeat due to perceived hunger or cravings.)

    I really think that this is the crux of the thing. Which explains why many people don't have trouble with the sugar in fruit. Or don't just binge on butter sticks. It's the hyperpalatability of the combinations of sugar and fat, and salt and fat, that causes the issues.

    I don't binge apples. But I will eat a whole lot of them if they are covered in peanut butter.
    And chocolates and cookies are sugar plus fat.

    My hubby's aunt doesn't binge sweets. She binges chips. Fat plus salt. Hubs, on his occasional few-and-far-between snacks are fat and salt as well.

    So it isn't the sugar per se. It's the sugar and fat coupled together. And it's the response to palatability (taste). Hmmm...something to think about.


    i binge on butter.. just sayin
  • DeWoSa
    DeWoSa Posts: 496 Member
    edited December 2014
    miketoryan wrote: »
    i binge on butter.. just sayin

    You eat straight up sticks of butter? I know of people who have butter control issues but I don't know if it was with butter sticks or butter on something.

    When I was a kid, I'd come home from school and make myself a snack of 1/2 cup Crisco and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix and eat.


  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    My son used to slice up hard margarine like cheese and eat it straight.
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
    J72FIT wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I love how you ask what the problem is and then quality if with that you will not accept lack of will power as an answer..

    sorry to break it to you but the answer is that people binge and over eat due to a lack of will power, period.

    Alright, screw it. Let's do this.

    I binge on sugary foods. How do I get willpower to not binge on them?

    will·pow·er[ wíl pòwr ]
    determination and self-discipline: a combination of determination and self-discipline that enables somebody to do something despite the difficulties involved

    Hmmm... I guess you just have to practice.

    How do I practice determination when I am already determined to not binge but then I do binge? How do I practice self-discipline when I am on my knees crying and telling myself not to eat that cookie as my hand is reaching for it?

    A dictionary definition isn't a plan of action. What's the plan of action? Where do I get willpower from?

    IMO, it's like any other skill you want to develop. Maybe the missing link is patience...

    A student walks into the dojo and asks the sensei "How long will it take me to become a Kung-Fu Master?"

    The sensei replies "First you must learn patience".

    To which the student replies "Yeah, yeah, patience. How long will THAT take?"
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    kyta32 wrote: »

    NHANES data for the first one, at least that has shown to be remotely accurate. Oh wait it's shown to be essentially worthless due to it's inaccuracy

    Your next link is the Avena rat study? Are humans now rodents? Is the 12on/12off feeding protocol remotely similar to human eating behavior?

    Drinking soda is associated with obesity? Also really weird sugar consumption peaked around '99, what happened to obesity rates since?

    "But some people do, and there is scientific evidence backing up their experience."

    LOL

    Try again
    (reposted so my reply would show. I couldn't get it to post with all the quotes)

    If people need double-blind studies to know something, they can google it. They come to MFP threads for the personal experiences of people who have successfully lost weight and maintained that loss (hence the name of this thread "..for weight loss". Note the thread is not aimed at recompers. If you find the assertion that sugar is easily eliminated, and that elimination can lead to weight loss offensive, there is no reason at all for you to be in this thread, so you can avoid all the aggravation).

    And millions of people have successfully lost weight by limiting sugars. Not your experience, I understand, but please understand that other people can experience different things than you. That does not make it ok to belittle and LOL them.

    However, if you need studies to believe that some people who are trying to lose weight have an easier time when they limit added sugar:

    http://www.andjrnl.org/article/0002-8223(94)90155-4/abstract?cc=y
    Done on humans. Amount of total sugar in diet did not predict obesity, amount of added sugar did.

    http://ucdirc.ucdavis.edu/people/papers/pelchat_johnson_etal_NI2004.pdf
    Human subjects. Images showing changes in the brain related to craving food. Scientific proof that food cravings exist.

    http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/19/5160.short
    Human subjects. MRIs showing brain differences in responses to images of food (i.e. chocolate cake). Cravings - different people respond to the reward pathways differently

    Pan A, Hu FB. Effects of carbohydrates on satiety: differences between liquid and solid food. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2011;14:385-90.
    Sugar-added drinks in paticular add calories, but do not affect hunger. Drinking a sugary drink will not lower the rest of the day's calories. Conversely, replacing that soda with water in one's diet does not increase the rest of the day's calories. The sucrose adds calories, not nutrition, and 0 satisfaction.

    http://www.banpac.org/pdfs/sfs/2011/sodas_cont_obesity_2_01_11.pdf
    "All lines of evidence consistently support the conclusion that the consumption of sweetened beverages has contributed to the obesity epidemic. It is estimated that sweetened beverages account for at least one-fifth of the weight gained between 1977 and 2007 in the US population."

    Don't worry that people who limit their added sugar during a diet won't be able to keep it up long-term. A dieter's sense of taste adapts. When someone regularly eats a lot of sweetened food, they will prefer sweet. After experiencing some time with less sucrose in their diet, their taste changes to less sweet. This is one reason eliminating and reducing sugar, even if it is temporary, can lead to better diet habits in the long run.
    Sweet and sour preferences in young children and adults: role of repeated exposure.
    Liem DG, de Graaf C
    Physiol Behav. 2004 Dec 15; 83(3):421-9.

    There is substantial scientific evidence that food cravings exist. There is substantial scientific evidence that added sugar causes weight gain based on how it affects metabolism and saiety. Added sugars can be safely reduced without getting rid of neccesary nutrients, and without an inevitable binge. Reducing added sugars for a period of time will retrain a dieter's tastes, so that it will be easier to resist sweets in the future, in the "real world". OP wins.

    Not everyone gets cravings. Those who don't may not be the best positioned to give advise to those that do. They certainly aren't entitled to dismiss the experiences of those who have successfully gotten through cravings and reduced body fat.

    I'm concerned about your need to belittle and dismiss the experiences of others. You may want to talk to a specialist about that. Good luck with your recomp journey :smile:

    LOL

    http://www.andjrnl.org/article/0002-8223(94)90155-4/abstract?cc=y
    Done on humans. Amount of total sugar in diet did not predict obesity, amount of added sugar did.

    Again, that is a correlation and it is based on a food diary and food frequency questionnaire, how accurate have those been found to be? And do we need the pirates and global warming graph again?

    http://ucdirc.ucdavis.edu/people/papers/pelchat_johnson_etal_NI2004.pdf
    Human subjects. Images showing changes in the brain related to craving food. Scientific proof that food cravings exist.

    No one denied that cravings exist, does it force the food into your mouth as well?


    http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/19/5160.short
    Human subjects. MRIs showing brain differences in responses to images of food (i.e. chocolate cake). Cravings - different people respond to the reward pathways different

    "Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we report that individual variation in trait reward sensitivity (as measured by the Behavioral Activation Scale) is highly correlatedwith activation to images of appetizing foods (e.g., chocolate cake, pizza) in a fronto–striatal–amygdala–midbrain network"

    Pan A, Hu FB. Effects of carbohydrates on satiety: differences between liquid and solid food. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2011;14:385-90.
    Sugar-added drinks in paticular add calories, but do not affect hunger. Drinking a sugary drink will not lower the rest of the day's calories. Conversely, replacing that soda with water in one's diet does not increase the rest of the day's calories. The sucrose adds calories, not nutrition, and 0 satisfaction.

    Ok go on, how this has any bearing on what we've been talking about. Might also want to check the satiety index, what scores the highest? High carb/sugar laden food, hmmmm


    http://www.banpac.org/pdfs/sfs/2011/sodas_cont_obesity_2_01_11.pdf
    "All lines of evidence consistently support the conclusion that the consumption of sweetened beverages has contributed to the obesity epidemic. It is estimated that sweetened beverages account for at least one-fifth of the weight gained between 1977 and 2007 in the US population."

    "Numerous well-designed observational studies
    have found positive associations between
    sweetened beverage intake and obesity or
    adiposity"

    LOL

    "Most importantly, two randomized controlled trials
    showed that successful reduction of sweetened beverage
    intake resulted in reductions in adiposity among children.
    Similarly, four trials to increase intake of sweetened
    beverages consistently showed weight gain among freeliving
    adults. Two additional trials that failed to detect a
    significant impact on adiposity were less appropriately
    designed to address this hypothesis."

    How was activity and other intake controlled for, did they rely on self reported intake?

    "There is substantial scientific evidence that added sugar causes weight gain based on how it affects metabolism and saiety. Added sugars can be safely reduced without getting rid of neccesary nutrients, and without an inevitable binge. Reducing added sugars for a period of time will retrain a dieter's tastes, so that it will be easier to resist sweets in the future, in the "real world". OP wins."


    Actually there is not and you have not presented any. Where are the studies that show in a deficit the evil added sugars are causing fat gain? Anything eaten in a surplus will result in some sort of gain, if you want to single out added sugars as causing fat gain then show it. Can you tell me the difference between added sugars and natural sugars, sucrose from apples vs added sucrose for example? OP did not call for reducing added sugars, he called for reducing sugars, strong reading comprehension
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    edited December 2014
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    adowe wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I guess the common sense part of me says, why do you need a study to determine that if you show people chocolate chip cookies and make them eat radishes they will be pissed.

    I guess the common sense part of me says, if willpower was unlimited, there'd be no reason to get pissed if they get radishes instead of chocolate.

    so if you have willpower you can't be angry at being forced to eat radishes instead of cookies? I don't really see how one ties into another...

    Being pissed off - like "binging" - is just a different way for describing a loss of self control. People with high degrees of willpower rarely binge, and rarely get pissed off. That so many people binge and/or get pissed off so regularly is an indicator that willpower is a limited resource.

    It's all part of the same package..

    ...that sounds like a natural reaction that anyone would have.

    Bingo...just like, under the right conditions, binging....

    Very Interesting... But I am way more likely to get pissed off at eating radishes when shown cookies over actually binging on cookies.

    Most people would.

    Which is exactly the point.

    Because if willpower is a matter of "choice" or otherwise infinite, there would be no reason at all to get pissed off about missing out on a cookie that wasn't even part of your meal plan when you woke up that morning.

    A radish wouldn't be in my meal plan anyway.

    But not everyone wakes up with a meal plan.

  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    LeenaGee wrote: »
    I woke up to 99 notifications - all from this thread!! :o I can't read them all, I have places to go, people to see. Two weeks to Christmas people and I have things to do.
    But so far I have learnt
    - that I will continue on my mission to cut out added sugar as it gives me the worst headaches and makes me feel yuck.
    - I am going to stick with my Primal/Paleo style of eating - lots of meat, chicken, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, limited dairy and cheese, water and cut out and if possible even eliminate cakes, biscuits, lollies from my diet.
    - I have no scientific evidence to back up my choice and if that is a problem then sue me. My way of eating has got me this far and at 60 years of age I am extremely healthy and active but 5 kilos overweight and that is only because of the fact that I started eating bloody sugar and now I can't stop!!!!

    Good luck to you all on your choices and to those who say "Eat what you like, when you like as long as you stay within your calorie quota for the day" please try and make that healthy food as your body with thank you.

    LeenaGee thanks for your common sense post. Life does go on. :)

    Cutting out all sugar and grains was very very hard for me because I did not cold turkey them for two months. After I did then the cravings left. There actually is good science behind what you are doing by the way. At our age we have to be serious. I have yo yo'ed too many times to tempt fate one more time. After the weight loss I will look at getting carbs back to <100 grams daily.

    Diets that work and get us/keep us healthy for years are the only kinds that count over time. The nice thing they can be very different from person to person as long as they keep us healthy. :)

    How a great Christmas!

  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    edited December 2014
    Kalikel wrote: »
    Dierdre isn't debating. She's not making an argument. She's not trying to fight.

    I think she's trying very hard to get to the bottom of exactly what people are saying.

    They make broad statements, which is fine. The "Nothing should be eliminated from the diet" is a broad statement. When these people are asked exactly how that is supposed to work, people assume it's some kind of debate or argument. It's not.

    I was recently told that those who seem to be on MFP just to be nasty are really not nasty. They're trying to help when they make what appear to be very rude comments.

    So, here they are, being offered the opportunity to help.

    People are asking how to do the things they say people should do. If "moderation" doesn't mean "a moderate amount", how much is "moderate"? If things are not to be eliminated, how do we work them all in and still meet calorie goals as well as macros and micros?

    It's not a debate or an argument. It's a question. Tell me how.


    Explaining CICO totally might help someone who hasn't heard it. But once they've heard it and say, "I understand that. I still binge. How do I stop binging?"...now comes the opportunity to help.

    The answer was "Practice it." Practice what? How is it done? Explain how to do it.

    If people really are trying to help others when they tell them what to do, then explain to them how they are supposed to do these things. That's what we all need to know. How does it work? How do I do it?

    How?

    In regards to the bolded bit, that's been asked and answered in more specific terms up-thread.

    But, in very general terms:

    - Keep track of what you eat.
    - Most of the time, try to select foods designed to help you meet any currently unmet macro/micro and calorie targets.
    - If you want a treat, evaluate how much of it you can eat and still hit your targets. Decide if having that amount is worth it to you. If it is, eat as much as you want within your pre-determined limits. If it isn't, or you can't have some (in other words, you have no calories left and don't want to get some extra activity), decide if you want to go to the trouble of planning it into another day. Execute that decision. Alternatively, go over by a bit today and either accept the hit, or adjust intake/exercise on one or maybe a couple of other days to make up the difference.

    Doing this, it is possible to work any food into your overall diet, given that the person is not trying to achieve a deficit too big for the amount of weight they need to lose. It is not necessarily possible to work in the amount of that food you want on any given day - or maybe ever. I mean, a 1,200 calorie piece of cheesecake is not going to fit into many people's plans. But 1/4 of it will if you plan ahead. A bite or two of it will fit in more frequently, if you decide it's worth it.

    BTW - if you decide it's not worth the effort to fit in that 1/4 piece of cheesecake, that is not the same thing as saying you 'can't' work cheesecake in to your diet. No. You don't 'want' to work cheesecake into your diet. Which is completely and utterly fine. I only mention it because I do see some of that reasoning floating around.

    The problem with trying to explain specifically how to go about this, is that the above can be accomplished in a million different ways. Everyone has different issues and goals. So, everyone is going to explain what worked for them, maybe what they heard worked for someone else. Maybe some of those specifics doesn't work so well for you, but that's no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

    For someone who's never tried this before: start with a suggested plan of attack that appeals to you. Modify it as you choose. Try it. Identify weaknesses. Ask for help with specific issues if you don't know how to address them. Apply common sense and personal knowledge to eliminate those weaknesses in ways you think you're most likely to be able to maintain. Rinse and repeat until you're happy with your plan and observed results. Prosper.
This discussion has been closed.